When Katie was a couple months old, I bought the cheapest baby carrier I could find at WalMart with a gift card I had received. It was not terribly comfortable and she didn't absolutely love being in it, but it worked. I didn't use it very often, but when she was 6 months old, I used it for a trip to the mall with my Mom, who was excited to "wear" her granddaughter. :) About half an hour into our walk around the mall, I looked down at Katie's leg, and it was taking on a slightly purple color from the carrier cutting off her circulation! Needless to say, we haven't used it since.
I am definitely not into "attachment parenting," but I can see definite benefits to babywearing. It's good for babies to be close the their moms. I absolutely love snuggling with Katie, and the love is mutual (in fact, as I'm writing this, my big baby is asleep in my lap :o). When Mom wears Baby around, Baby has the opportunity to be part of whatever she's doing. Baby can watch Mom clean or listen to adult conversations, and I think these are great opportunities for babies to learn. Of course, it benefits Mom to be able to have baby close by and safe and still have use of both hands.
I went without a usable infant carrier for a month or two, but then my parents were kind enough to give me the baby sling of my choice as a gift. I researched various options, compared prices all over the web and ended up ordering the HAVA
Sling by SlingEZee from Nurtured Family.I chose the HAVA
for several reasons:::It's not bulky. I wanted a padded sling I could fit in my diaper bag. This is perfect for that!
::It has a zippered pocket in the tail. This is great for the grocery store (stick debit card and list in it and go) or the airport (handy for ID, boarding pass, etc)
::It has a good reputation. Everything I read about it was good!
::It is pretty. I chose the Elle fabric, myself. :)
::It comes with an instructional DVD, a must for a babywearing novice like myself.
Me wearing Katie while my sister-in-law and I did up
apples for baked apples last night at my in-laws' farm.
definitely did not disappoint. It's very comfortable and I love being able to carry Katie around while having my hands free. I have used it while cleaning, doing some things in the kitchen (carefully...no knives!), at the airport, going for walks, and all sorts of other situations.And, Katie loves it, too. When I wear her, she's on my hip and usually stays as happy as can be, even when I wear her for extended amounts of time. :)I also really appreciated the customer service at Nurtured Family. They were incredibly great with responding to my emails quickly, and with a low price guarantee and free shipping on orders over $75, I couldn't find a better deal on the internet. As a treat for my readers, Nurtured Family has agreed to give all of you $10 off your purchase of a HAVA
from their website from today until February 10! Just enter the coupon code HAVA10 at the checkout to get your discount. You really won't find a better deal for the HAVA, so I would encourage you to take advantage of this offer while you can!Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way to write this review. However, this post does contain affiliate links.
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This item could be very useful for grandmothers also:) Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHave you compared this one to the Ergo as far as comfort? I have heard only good things about Ergo, although I also recently started looking into SleepyWrap. I have a friend who has an Ergo and one who has a SleepyWrap. I told them when I get pregnant I'll borrow their babies and their carriers and try them out! :)
ReplyDeleteLaura:
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've tried an Ergo is when I used Lauren's for a little bit. I think the Ergo is more comfortable, but they sort of serve different purposes, I guess. The HAVA is easy to nurse in and folds up small to fit in the diaper bag, while the Ergo is bigger and not as easy to nurse in. And, it's a good bit more expensive. I'd love to have one some day, though.
-Mary Jo
Thanks Mary Jo,
ReplyDeleteI had been looking for an Ergo to send Lauren all summer long but never found one. I always asked at yard sales that had baby stuff and a lot of women said they had one, but were not selling it! I was really happy to hear from Lauren that someone else had given her one.
What has me looking into the SleepyWrap is the fact the Ergo apparently uses your hips to carry most of the weight, I can't do that because of being in an accident when I was 16. The SleepyWrap is only around $40 and it uses your shoulders back and hips to displace the weight. It isn't as cute as the HAVA though!
~Laura
That looks like a good one! I really loved my Kangaroo Korner sling. It was a lifesaver for the 3rd child!
ReplyDeleteI am very new to the whole baby wearing thing too. So I love hearing about what people think about their slings. Thanks for the post!!
ReplyDeletehow do I retrieve the coupon. My daughter wants to Hava very much after a demo we saw at a baby fair
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog. Thank you.
ReplyDelete